


Clawing for Solid Ground

by LolaLee



Series: Love and Tenderness [1]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eating Disorders, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Foster Care, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, Miscarriage, Parent/Child Incest, Pregnancy, Psychological Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-02-13 21:39:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12993060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LolaLee/pseuds/LolaLee
Summary: Korra knew pregnancy would be a difficult adjustment for her wife, given Asami's second marriage to her work (a spouse to whom her love was enviably unconditional) and the details of her relationship with her thankfully incarcerated father, but Korra had not realized how many issues the two still hadn't come to terms with.Korra is a police officer and Asami is an engineer at Future Industries, although she doesn't own the company. This will mainly focus on Korra's point of view with occasional flashbacks to high school. Also, Korrasami forever! Some ships should never sink!Feel free to comment (hint, hint).





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hit the post button before I meant to (oops), so I will be coming back to try and improve this chapter whenever I can and hopefully adding more chapters later on.

Korra knew quite early on that Asami's rather strict standards for her body were influenced by her father, although the cynical implications of that influence only became apparent latter on in their relationship. The man always mentioned Asami's appearance. Korra had never heard a father refer to his own daughter as "voluptuous" before meeting Hiroshi Sato. She chalked it up to not meeting many of her friends fathers, an attitude reinforced by how little the word choice surprised Asami. Korra had realised fairly quickly that the reason Asami would periodically be found retching in the girl's bathroom, slightly after lunch break, was not because of an upset stomach.  
  
Now that she was with child, Asami had to resist all urges to turn to her old techniques. The most she could do was avoid unhealthy foods and the cravings would usually overpower her. Korra was keeping a close eye on her wife, knowing purging could easily be disguised as morning sickness. Korra would think about Asami around lunch time, sometimes making up excuses to give her a call, not wanting the eating disorder on Asami's mind  
  
Korra is scanning through the United Daily News, looking for mentions of her involvement in a recent case when she feels the familiar weight on her lap followed by a warmth between her legs, "Sorry if I'm crushing you, Sweetie" Asami says lightly  
  
Korra sighs "You've gained like two pounds", she says trying not to sound annoyed at her wife's self-depreciation  
  
"I've gained ten"  
  
"Must be going to the right places"  
  
"You mean my thighs"  
  
"You're beautiful" Korra runs her hands along her wife's sides taking in her body, "I love you to pieces. Our baby loves you. Even if you were three-hundred pounds, neither of us would care. We'd love you even if a crocodile bit off half of your face", Korra says leaning on her twisted sense of humour, "and I'd learn to enjoy sex with you" Asami giggles, although she feels she should be a little offended, "Because that was the promise I made to you on our wedding"  
  
"I don't remember anything about a crocodile"  
  
"You weren't listening, you were to happy to be marrying me"  
  
"That might be true", Asami says leaning in to kiss her wife. Korra wraps strong arms around her waist, not minding the lipstick being smeared across her face. It had taken a long time after the two had started getting intimate for Korra to get used to the idea that she was doing the things to the dark haired beauty her others could only dream about. She still had a certain sense of awe whenever she really thought about her wife and herself. It was with those feelings that she unbuttons Asami's blouse, taking in the sight of her swollen breasts, straining the fabric of her lace bra. Korra kisses each one gently, remembering they were likely sore and tender at this point in the pregnancy. "I love you so much", Asami says her voice thick with tears. Korra pulls away a little to look at Asami's face, "hormones", Korra reaches forward to wipe away a few stray tears. She hated to admit that the warmth between her legs had not gone away at the sight of her wife's distress, but experience had taught her any further permission given to her by Asami to "keep going" was coming from a warped sense of obligation and not any desire for her to continue. She chooses to embrace Asami. "You can keep going", Asami says failing to keep her voice together  
  
"It's okay, honey", Korra says re-buttoning Asami's blouse, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice  
  
"I'm sorry, baby", Asami says bursting into uncontrolled sobs  
  
Korra embraces her again, "Shh. It's okay. I'm sure it's been a long day. Let's just get to bed, okay?", Asami nods, "I love you just as much as I did five minutes ago", Asami nods again, sobbing harder.  
  
  
Korra is glad to feel Asami pressed against her chest, her face free of any makeup or lipstick that might rub off on Korra's pyjama top. They had been seeing each other for months before Korra had been permitted to see Asami in such a state and Korra could not think of a single other person with the same privilege. This comforts Korra when she thinks about Asami spends large parts of her days with people who are smarter, funnier and better looking than Korra. Some of whom Korra has met at office Christmas parties and other work functions. These people understand Asami's designs and laugh at her engineering jokes.  
  
With the slight swell of her wife's abdomen pressing against her, a part of her wishes it could be her biology in Asami's womb. It would be a part of Korra, Asami could carry inside of her for nine months and at the end of that time bring into the world a baby that looked like Korra and not some stranger.  
  



	2. Good News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is kind of dark, but things will lighten up (by my standards) in later chapters.

**Korra: Great news! The guys are taking me out to the noodlery 2 celebrate U can come with 2 if u want**

Korra could barely keep her excitement to herself as she was texting. A part of her knew it would happen eventually. She considered herself a good police officer but hearing the words from Lin Beifong was something else entirely.

To make things even better, Korra had gotten to see the fetus for the first time and had understood that she and Asami would be having a baby soon. The reality of not being related to the child genetically was seeming less and less important given how wonderful the prospect of having a child, any child, let alone one that would resemble "the most gorgeous woman ever," was seeming to her. A younger, more pessimistic Korra would have never dreamed of so many things going right in her life.

Of course, it is a gamble whether or not Asami would pry herself away from her desk long enough to check her phone, the upcoming maternity leave having given her an excuse to work even harder than before. Five minutes go by with no reply. _She's probably still working. She really needs to take it easy._

The rest of the evening goes by as Korra had expected it to. Bolin gives Korra a heartfelt congratulations while Mako tries to conceal his envy before the conversation shifts to other topics. Korra retires from the celebrations a little earlier than she usually would, leaving Bolin and a few other people to deal with a slightly intoxicated Mako.

When she arrives home, Korra is relived to see Asami's car in the driveway. She checks her phone. _Weird that she didn't get back to me._ None of the lights are on in the house. _She must be asleep. I bet she's exhausted._ Korra opens the door to their bedroom, to find Asami lying ing away from the door. Korra tries to be as quiet as possible while she's changing into her pyjama's. It is only once she has slid under the covers and her eyes have adjusted to the light that she realises Asami's body is too ridged to be asleep. 

" Asami," she whispers.

A long moment passes "Hi, Korra," she responds in barely audibly. 

"Hi, Baby What's going on?"

Asami lets out a long shuddering sigh, "Korra, I lost the baby."

"Lost the baby? What to you mean?" Korra inquires, thinking Asami might be referring to some kind of anxiety dream wherein she literally misplaces their child. 

"I wasn't feeling good yesterday, so this morning I went to the hospital to make sure everything was okay and they couldn't find a heartbeat. Something went wrong." Asami sounds completely detached. Korra stares down at the comforter. _This isn't happening._ Not only were the circumstances difficult to grasp but Asami's reaction would have been unimaginable a few minutes earlier. Asami was the queen of giving bad news. There were all kinds of tricks she had for easying people into these things. Korra had seen subordinates praise Asami, shortly after she had laid them off. Did she think Korra wouldn't care?

" Thi'smorning?" Korra asks, dumbly. Asami nods."Why didn't you call me or text me or _something?_" The question trails off becoming quieter and quieter. There's another long pause before Asami responds.

" I wanted to deal with it."

Korra had been present for every other part of the pregnancy; the planning, the donor selection process, the fertilization, she had rubbed Asami's back and given her water during bouts of morning sickness, gone to the store at 2:45 in the morning to get her pickles and chocolates, she had been in the bathroom with Asami when she took the pregnancy test. "Honey, You didn't have to go through this alone. I could have been there." Korra tries desperately to keep any frustration from her voice. _It's been a long day for her_

" Well it was my body," Korra flinches at the harshness in Asami's voice. "and my baby, so I'm the one that get's to be there when they rip her out of me. I didn't want you there." At some point into her relationship with Asami, Korra had reached an assurance that Asami was somehow different from the previous women in her life who had hurt her without clear reasons. Every foster mother except Senna had seemed to want to make her suffer for a crime she didn't realise she'd committed. Is Asami the same? Has she been deluding herself into thinking she could be loved by this women? Korra looks away from Asami feeling as if the progress of the last fifteen years of her life had been stripped away, reverting her from an RCPD detective into a scared little girl.

There is no limit to the amount of effective insults Korra could throw back at Asami, having been with the other woman long enough to know where the really vulnerable spots were but she lacks the burning anger to drive her to say them. All she feels is pain. Korra stands, still unable to look at Asami. _It's like she cheated on me, no wait, it would have been easier if she'd cheated on me. People cheat for all kinds of reasons._

" What are you doing?" Asami asks her voice void of the previous bitterness. 

"You don't want me here, so I'm leaving." Korra answers resolutely, already making her way to the door

"Korra?" Korra does not reply, knowing her actions are self-evident. However when she reaches the doorway, Asami is standing there blocking her passage "Korra, please. I didn't mean it." Asami pleads with a desperation very rare for her. 

"You don't want me here!" Korra retaliates, letting her pain seep out through her voice

"I do, Korra. Don't go. Please, don't go. I love you, Korra, " Asami replies, a days worth of tears leaking from her eyes

"Stop saying saying that! You don't mean it!"

Asami sinks to her knees, grabbing onto Korra by the waist "I do mean it. I always mean it. I love you so much, Korra. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," with every word Asami sounds more and more like a little girl," I shouldn't have said those things to you. It was your baby too. I know that. I'm sorry my body was too messed up to keep her alive in me. I know you were excited, that you wanted a family. I'm so sorry." Something clicks in Korra's mind. _Stupid, stupid, stupid. Of course this isn't about you._ Korra tries to manoeuver herself onto the floor with Asami. The grip around her waist tightens.

" It's okay," she tells Asami, running her fingers through thick raven locks, "I'm not going anywhere." After a moment Asami nods, allowing Korra to sink down and wrap her arms around the other woman "I won't leave you. I love you so much."

"It hurts so much," Asami rests her chin on Korra's shoulder "I didn't think I could feel this kind of pain again." She sounds completely drained. Korra rubs soothing circles on Asami's back, feeling the tense muscles relaxing a little.

"It's late," she says softly, "let's both get some shuteye."

When Asami rises, Korra notices that her wife's stomach is still bloated, cruelly giving her the appearance of still being pregnant. There's no limit to the amount of sorrow she feels for Asami in that moment. Asami takes Korra's hand, having noticed the other woman's gaze. When the two are safely tucked under the comforter Asami ask, "Hey, what was that good news you were going to tell me about?"


	3. Migraine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would have posted this chapter sooner but after writing the first draft I realised I had come at it from the wrong angle and had to rewrite it a couple of times. Thank you to everyone in the comment section for giving such wonderful feedback. It really motivates me to keep writing.

At four o'clock Korra begins to feel a familiar tingling. Thirty minutes later she is lying in her darkened bedroom waiting for what is now clearly a migraine to pass, three hours later it finally starts ebbing away. In the time between Korra tries to busy herself with thoughts of work, mainly case files, but thinking about them seems pointless when the migraine is keeping her from reading them and all she can remember are seemingly innocuous. So she shifts her focus to Asami being pregnant again, imagining Asami talking to her belly and having other arguably one-sided interactions with their unborn child. But as soon as she gets any enjoyment from these thoughts, something else forces itself into her thinking. She tries to push it away, as she has been successfully managing for serval days but now alone and without any convenient distraction, it keeps returning to her when she pushes it away, each time a little more resilient.

It was three days ago that it first appeared in her mind. She and Asami were leaving Dr. Suzuki's office after getting the news that Asami had conceived again. Korra was reaching for the door handle when the kindly, old doctor had turned to Asami and said, "Oh, and Mrs. Sato, there's no reason to be worried because of past pregnancies. The tests show that everything is perfectly fine. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon." His use of the plural when refering to Asami's "past pregnancies" had been bothering Korra since. She had started bringing other things into question. She wondered why Asami had done so little research into pregnancies when she took time to educate herself of all the other important things in her life or why there was no back up plan for if Asami had not conceived.

The door to the bedroom opens, letting in the light from the hall. Asami enters holding a tray with a tea set, "Hi, Baby. How's the headache?" She sets the tray down on one of the tight tables by the bed.

"It's just starting to go away." Korra says, moving into a sitting position to better see Asami. As much as she loves the person who lounges around the house in Yoga pants and an oversized sweatshirt, from time to time Korra cannot help but get a little giddy at seeing her wife wearing a suit that was either specially tailored or fit so perfectly that it never needed to be. It always excites Korra to know that she is getting the attention of the put together Asami Sato her colleagues at Future Industries can only dream of.

"I brought some tea. It helps me when I get them. I hope you feel better soon." Asami punctuates the last sentence with a kiss on her wife's cheeck. Korra wraps a protective arm around Asami's waist, sliding her hand under Asami's top, to rest against her bare belly. "Sweetie, I don't think there's anything to feel, yet" Asami says not sounding the least bit displeased.

"I can feel you," Korra replies sincerely, "I'm probably not feeling much else but I like being close to you, both of you. Thank you for the tea." Asami rests her head on Korra's shoulder, moving her hand over her wife's. Korra wishes this moment could be the only thing on her mind. She wonders if the rest of the pregnancy will be overshadowed by her lingering suspicion. She tightens her grip around Asami a little, craving the extra bit of contact. 

"Baby, is everything okay?" Asami concernedly.

Korra stiffens."Yeah, just thinking about work." To anyone else Korra would have almost believed herself convincing but she knows better than to think she has fooled Asami.

"The tea's probably cooled down by now," Asami says wiggling out of the embrace to pour Korra a cup. Korra takes it, gratefully, letting the warm liquid comfort her pallet. Asami rests a maternal hand on her abdomen, not closing the distance between them once Korra has set the cup back down. 

Asami stands in the doorway, projecting the authority she usually reserves for work.

"Sweetie," she also sounds like she does at work, though she's not speaking unkindly, "please, tell me what's been bothering you?" Korra's heart rate increases. 

"Yeah," Korra says after a long moment, hardly looking at Asami as she is speaking "there's something I've been wondering about."

"Okay," Asami answers soberly. Korra scowers her brain for the right words, "Is it about the baby?" Asami asks abruptly, not projecting the same confidence as before. 

"What?" Korra asks dumbly, caught off guard by the question."No, no, no. Honey, I'm so happy about the baby. " She takes Asami hand, realising only afterwards that she might be hindering herself from communicating further. "I want this. Of course I want this."

"Then what is it?" Asami answers, only a little relieved.

Korra lets go of her hand, looking down at the comforter. "It's just that. When we were leaving Doctor Suzuki's office, he said something that got me thinking and I've been thinking about all this other stuff to that's starting to make sense."

"What did he say?" Asami asks steadily. 

"He said...he said you didn't need to worry because of _past pregnancies._" Korra says quietly. When she looks up, Asami's expression has changed. 

" I didn't notice. When he said that, I didn't notice, I was just so..." her voice trails off.

Korra gives Asami a moment before asking, "have there been any, past pregnancies?". A long moment passes before Asami nods stiffly, tears streaming down her face in dark drops of mascara. Korra wants to ask for more details, something to help her make sense of what has been implied. Asami tries saying more but her voice fails to compete with the violent sobs coming from her diaphragm. None of her sentences are coherent. Korra does not know whether she is speaking to Korra or herself. Asami's breathing becomes more labored. She tries to take air in to quickly. Korra moves towards Asami, wrapping strong arms around her still relatively slim waist but Asami squirms out of it, drawing into herself. Korra tries to swallow down the feelings of rejection wanting focus on helping Asami.

Over time Asami's breaths steady. Korra wonders if she should say something but the more she thinks about it the less she feels there are words in the English language capable of doing so. The room falls silent. Asami pours herself a cup of tea, her back turned to Korra, "It's late. Let's go to bed, okay?"

"Yeah."Korra answers quietly, "let's got to bed." It is not very late, barely eight o'clock, but Korra can more than understand the appeal of climbing under the covers and going to sleep.

It takes a longer for Asami to go through her usual night time routine. Korra can feel herself drifting off a little when, Asami climbs in beside her, laying close by. This is usually a sign that she wants to cuddle. Korra does not embrace her, not knowing how her wife will react. Sensing her uncertainty, Asami takes Korra's arm and wraps it around her waist so that they are spooning, "I love you, Korra."Asami says firmly, holding both arms tightly in place. "I promise I'll tell you more in the morning."

"Okay." Korra kisses Asami on the back of the neck. "I love you too."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took some good advice and deleted the old Chapter 4. It didn't really add anything and I hope this one will. This chapter delves deeper into the stuff that was mentioned. So, be warned.

A small hand nudges Korra from an uncomfortable sleep on the kitchen table. "Come on. We won't make it in time if you don't wake up," A little boy of eight or nine hurries around the kitchen. His resemblance to Asami is striking, only his hair is a little thinner, his complexion a little paler. There is another, much younger, more beautiful child sitting across from Korra, humming an old water tribe song as Asami runs delicate brush strokes through her hair. "Mom, we need to go," the little boy wines to his mother. Asami flinches at his voice then continues her grooming unhindered. 

Asami holds the little girl's hand, as they walk along the veranda. The boy trails behind them. "Wait! You're walking too fast. You have to wait!" Asami begins to talk over him, nervously commenting on the weather, gradually increasing her pace. His presence is only felt more, as he gets further and further away. More children walk along side him. making similar demands. The distance between Korra and her wife also grows wider. In her efforts to avoid the figures behind her, Asami hardly notices. A hand grabs Korra's arm from behind. The fingers morph into claws, drawing blood from her arm. The creature lets out a long, pitiful shriek. "Why are you doing this?" It asks, sounding like some of the foster children Korra rembers; scarred and abandoned. 

Korra opens her eyes to find a different hand gently shaking her shoulder. Korra raises her head from her arms, adjusting herself to the slight cramp in her neck. She groans at the witness statements lying in front of her. _If I hadn't been sleeping, I could have found something by now._ The hand on her shoulder, squeezes a little. Korra turns around, to hug her wife's waist, reassured by the bump beneath her coat. Asami runs a hand through her hair. " Bad dream?" She asks sympathetically. Korra nods into her body. She runs her fingers all the way along Asami's maternal swell. Had her dream been acurate? Was that what their daughter would look like? "Wanna talk about it?"

"No," She pulls out of the embrace. "But I feel like we should talk about it. I think it had do with what you told me a few weeks ago." The other woman's face becomes serious. It had been a mistake not talking about it at the time. "Whatever you tell me, I love you, all of you." Asami seats herself facing Korra, giving the other woman a brief smile. 

"I've never talked about them to anyone until Dr. Suzuki. Even with him I didn't go into details. Everything's just this kind of jumbled mess. I don't even really know where to start."

"Would it help if I asked you questions?"

"Okay."

"How many times were you pregnant? Before the last one?"

Asami hugs her sides. "Three," she says quietly. 

Korra blinks. One prior pregnancy was too many. Three were almost unthinkable. "What happened? I mean, what were the end results?" She forces herself continue for fear of Asami again hiding from the topic. 

"The first one, I didn't really know what was going on. When I lost it, I knew something was terribly wrong. I was so young, I wasn't even really sure about pregnancy. How it works. I had never heard of anyone getting pregnant like that so I never thought it would happen. It hurt so much, I thought I was dying." Asami laughs sadly. 

An image of the younger Asami, Korra's seen in a pictures, in that sort of pain, flickers through Korra's mind. As much as she wants to, Korra doesn't take her wife into her arms. Korra wishes she could think of a better way of asking the next question."What happened to the other two?"

"They were terminated."

"Is that what you wanted?" Korra asks without a trace of judgment.

"I don't know." Asami wipes a stray tear away. " I don't know all the things that would have been wrong with them," she says, sounding more and more upset, "I don't know what my life would look like if I had children. All the problems they'd have because of where they came from." Her hand comes to rest protectively over her still flat belly. "But they were my babies. They were my babies and he had them ripped out of me." Asami says the last sentence with such venom that the detective flinches. Guilt for having pressured Asami into revisiting her traumatic memories seeps into Korra. 

"Is that everything you want to know?" Asami asks after a long while, her voice having returned to normal. 

"Is there anything else you wanna tell me?"

Asami pauses for a long while, "No."

"Then thank you for trusting me with this." Only when she begins to speak does she realise how close to tears she is. Asami's expression softens immediately into that of a deep sympathy, Korra knows she has no right to. She walks to where Korra is sitting to envelop her in a deep hug. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Korra sobs into her wife's chest. 

"Sweetie, you didn't do anything," Asami tries to console. "He was the one that did those things to me."

"I made you talk about it," Korra counters 

"You didn't make me do anything. I wanted to tell you those things. I was so worried for so long about you knowing or anyone else knowing. It felt so good, finally talking about it." She runs her fingers through Korra's hair, sounding quite close to tears herself. Korra gently pulls out of the embrace, patting her lap as a silent invitation for Asami to take a seat there. Her wife obliges, grateful for the more comfortable position. Korra holds Asami as close to herself as is possible. Everything about the other woman feels right; her weight on Korra's lap, the smell of her hair, the soft rise and fall of her chest. Asami lets out a long yawn. 

She gives the tired woman a tender kiss on the cheek. "It's been such a long night. How about we go to bed?"

"I'd like that."

"I love you."

"I love you too."


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I deleted the old Chapter 4 and added a new one. It would be a good idea to check that one out if you haven't already.

Korra wakes to the pleasant weight of her wife's head on her chest. The rays of the morning sun peak in through the curtains highlighting her wife's dark locks. An arm and a leg are thrown haphazardly over Korra's body. Korra can't remember the last time everything felt so right. There's nothing she feels needs to be discussed with Asami, no dark secrets hindering their relationship. 

Unable to resist, she kisses the top of Asami's head, feeling slightly guilty when the other woman's eyelids flutter open. She tries manoeuvring herself out of the embrace. Asami clings in such a way that makes it difficult. Korra chuckles, endeared by her wife's morning neediness. "Sweetie, I have to go to work. So do you."

"No, I don't," Asami replies languidly. "My morning meetings were cancelled yesterday." She burries herself further into Korra. 

"That's nice _for you_ but some of us have to be very careful about adendance because our bosses don't like that we're going on family leave in a little while."

" I can make staying home worth your while." Asami conjoles in a sing-song voice, "I still look half decent."

Korra feels a tingling between her legs, executing every ounce of self-controll to pry Asami off of her. "You're gorgeous," Korra replies from a safe distance away, "But I can't not go to work today."

"Baby," Asami reverts to her serious tone, "I have a really bad feeling."

"What do you mean?" Korra sits on the edge of the bed, careful to pay attention to her wife's concerns 

"I don't know. It's just like something really bad is going to happen today." Asami casts her eyes downward. 

Korra sighs. As much as she wants to side with Asami's intuition, she knew better than to test Beifong's religious work ethic. Demotions being surprisingly common within the bureau. "It'll be fine," she feigns certainty, taking Asami's hand, kissing a few knuckles. "it'll be another boring day at the bureau. At the end of it, I'll come home and you and me'll get to enjoy each other, huh?"

Aami furrows her brow. "Okay," she replies worriedly. 

"It'll be fine." Korra repeats, believing the statement more the second time. 

On the twenty minute drive to work, Korra has time to reflect on a number of things. The boy from her dream had been curiously absent the last time she went to sleep. She wonders whether he's coming back. Korra wonders if he had ever visited Asami, seeing as her wife had always been fairly tight lipped about her nightmares. _I'll ask her when I get home,_ Korra thinks to herself resolutely. 

The bureau is abuz when she arrives. Beifong says something about " interviews" and "no time for doughnuts." Before Korra realises what is going on, she's already in an unmarked car headed to one of the seadier districts. Michiko, her new partner, chats nervously from the driver's seat. A dirty-looking figure is loitering outside of their destination. Even from her current distance, Korra recognises the man from her file, although his name escapes her. They exit the vehicle. The man's eyes linger on the two sharply dressed women for only a moment before his sprinting away from them. "Shit," Korra curses to herself "Hey!" She vainly calls after him, already approaching his tail. "Republic City Polic Bureau."

They weave through a crowd of women, Korra assumes to be "working" and other stuned bystanders either up early or late. She jumps over everry trash can he pushes into her path and doges every other sidewalk ornament. He runs quickly for such a heavy man but Korra knows he's losing energy quickly. She's nearly close enough to touch him when he darts into the street. Korra follows behind him. In a moment almost to quick to comprehend, he is hit by a beigh Buick, altering the windshild to a spiderweb of plexi glass before landing solidly on the pavement. His mouth stays agape, his chest no longer expanding. 

It takes Korra what seems an eternity to realise the laboured breathing she hears is her own. For a split second she is aware of the pain inhabiting what seems every inch of her body. Then the pain fades. The sounds coming from the people in the street fade also. The pavement becomes soft, like her matress at home and the unseeing eyes of the dead stranger lying a few feet away from her become a vibrant green. Korra lifts her hand to Asami's cheek, feeling the soft warm skin against her palm. Her wife says something she can't quite decipher and everything fades to black. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry folks, this is not the end. Part of the reason it took so long to post this was that I wanted to have Part II ready so that no one would be left hanging on that kind of a cliff hanger.


End file.
